


this mess we're in

by carolinecrane



Category: Deadliest Catch RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-02
Updated: 2010-01-02
Packaged: 2017-10-05 16:44:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Jake Anderson proved that the Jake Swap was a pretty good idea after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	this mess we're in

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ideal_girl (trainwreckdress)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/trainwreckdress/gifts).



Switching places with Jake Harris doesn't mark the first time Jake Anderson's been aboard the _Cornelia Marie_. They picked him up when his sister died and gave him a ride back to Dutch, and none of them gave him any shit when he couldn't stop crying. That doesn't make him a member of the crew or anything, but it means he feels pretty comfortable coming aboard for the second time.

Josh is waiting for him when he reaches the boat just like he was the last time Jake came aboard. That time he just wrapped his arms around Jake and let him cry, and if any of his crew thought it was weird, Josh never said anything. This time he's grinning as he reaches down to give Jake a hand onto the deck, and instead of pulling Jake close, he just tosses his smoke overboard and claps him on the shoulder.

"You ready for this?"

"Fishing's fishing, right?" Jake says, but he knows what Josh means. They've never spent this much time in close quarters before, and even though they're both going to be exhausted before long, it's still a little weird. Kind of like moving in with his boyfriend, except there are six other guys living with them, including Josh's father.

He follows Josh across the deck, past the bait station and through the door that leads below deck. At the bottom of the stairs Josh stops and looks at him, and for a second Jake thinks he's going to do something stupid like kiss him. Instead he grins and says, "You know this makes you the Greenhorn again."

"Fuck that," Jake answers. "I've got just as much experience as you."

"Yeah, but my old man owns the boat."

Jake rolls his eyes, but he doesn't quite manage to stifle his grin. "Just wait until I tell him you said that."

~

_Hope you can cook._ That's the first thing they say to him, before he even has time to stow his duffel in the bunk he'll be sharing with Josh.

"Hope you like spaghetti," he answers, and when they all groan he grins. He's heard about Jake Harris' cooking, mostly from Edgar and Matt when they heard Jake was joining their crew, and he knows there's no way he's filling those shoes. But he can fish, and he figures once they see how hard he works on deck, they'll stop caring that he's not some gourmet chef.

"Don't worry about it," Josh says as he leads Jake toward their bunk. "All I can make is French toast."

Jake grins again as Josh stops in a doorway, Jake's shoulder brushing Josh's chest as he squeezes past and swings his duffel onto the top bunk. "But it's pretty good French toast."

"Yeah, well, you make pretty good spaghetti," Josh answers.

Jake glances up to find Josh watching him, a shiver running down his spine that has nothing to do with October in Alaska. And pretty soon they'll be so tired whenever they're alone that they won't have the energy to do more than pass out in their bunks, but there's still tonight.

~

After a full week of mostly empty pots, even Jake starts wondering if he's the reason for their run of bad luck.

"Don't be stupid," Josh answers when Jake says it out loud, exhaustion making his voice heavy as he pulls off a sweat-soaked t-shirt and tosses it on the floor. Normally Jake would enjoy the show, even after a thirty-hour run, but right now he's too distracted to notice.

"Maybe changing places with your brother jinxed the season."

"Boats take on new crew all the time, it's not like leaving port on a Friday or something," Josh says.

And he's got a point, but it doesn't make Jake feel much better. He's pretty sure he's not the only one thinking it, either; Josh is in his corner, yeah, but the rest of the crew doesn't have a reason to want him around.

"It's not the same as taking on a new greenhorn," Jake says. He's sitting on the edge of Josh's bunk, watching Josh move around the tiny room without really paying attention to what he's doing. "It's a change in the routine. Everybody knows that's bad luck."

"You're not bad luck."

"You have to say that," Jake answers, dropping back onto Josh's bunk. He knows he should climb into his own bunk, but it seems like too much effort right now.

"Move over," Josh says, shoving until Jake presses up against the wall to let Josh slide in next to him. He looks as tired as Jake feels, but he leans in to kiss Jake anyway. "It's Phil's job to find the crab, so if anybody's to blame it's him. Now shut up and get some sleep, idiot."

Jake thinks about arguing, but if he pisses Josh off enough he'll kick Jake out of his bunk, so he keeps his mouth shut for once and takes Josh's advice.

~

In the end, it's Josh who talks him into it.

"No way," Jake says the first time they bring it up, and the second and the third time too.

"Come on, man, it's tradition," Josh says, but he's grinning at Jake like it's not so much the tradition as how far Jake's willing to go to prove he's loyal to his new crew.

"It's stupid is what it is," he answers, but Josh just laughs at him and shuts off the light before he climbs into the bunk under Jake's. They're both quiet for awhile, and Jake figures Josh is asleep when he hears the mattress on the bottom bunk shift.

"I think it would look pretty good on you."

Jake doesn't answer, but the next time they bring it up on deck, he doesn't tell them what they can do with their tradition.

He regrets it a couple days later, when Josh shoves him into a chair in the galley. Freddie's standing behind him, a hand on his shoulder like he's expecting Jake to make a break for it as soon as he fires up the clippers. For a second Jake considers it, but before he makes up his mind Freddie shaves the first stripe through his hair, and then it's too late to take it back.

The day after Freddie gives them all mohawks, they start pulling up full pots again. So maybe there's something to this whole tradition thing after all.

~

Jake's standing on the deck keeping count of their offloaded crab when Phil stops next to him. He's got his hands in his pockets, staring down at the still half-full tank. Jake's been at this long enough to know how important the count is, so he doesn't take his eyes off the baskets as they transfer the crab from the tank to the weighing station.

"You did good out there," Phil says. "I can see why Sig keeps you around."

"Thanks," Jake says. He risks a quick glance over at Phil, but he's still staring down at the crab.

"Shame you can't stay on full time. That kid of mine can be a real pain in the ass."

Jake laughs at that, but he doesn't offer an opinion. He doesn't mention Josh's opinion either, even though he's heard it a million times.

For a few minutes Phil doesn't say anything else, and Jake figures maybe that's the end of the conversation. And it's nice to hear that he did a good job, but he's not sure why Phil's still standing there when he could be inside staying warm while Jake does the grunt work.

"Guess Josh liked having you around too," Phil says, and this time Jake does take his eyes off the count to look at Phil. He glances over at Jake, catching his eye just for a second before he looks back down at the tank. "Gave him a break from being low man, anyway."

"Yeah, he made sure I didn't forget that."

Phil laughs, and Jake risks a grin. "Yeah, well, he's less of a pain in the ass with you around too. Guess you're a good influence or something. But I was hoping you were smart enough not to let them do that to your hair."

**Author's Note:**

> Full disclosure: I ship this. I ship it hard. I have an entire Jake A./Josh H. universe going in my LJ, so when I saw your request I couldn't resist. I know it's not exactly what you asked for, but I hope you like it anyway. Anyone who wants to punch Keith in the nose deserves a fic that will make them happy.


End file.
